Proper process was followed and safety was the driving force behind a request for bids by the Bull Arm Site Corporation to replace the guard house and award the contract to the lowest bidder.

"The Opposition is really reaching to suggest political patronage has any role to play in the awarding of the contracts to replace of the security building at the entrance to the Bull Arm Site," said the Honourable Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources. "Proper process was followed in awarding the contracts, they were awarded to the lowest bidder and the job completed at the lowest possible price."

The Bull Arm Site Corporation, which falls under the responsibility of the Department of Natural Resources, had originally gone to public tender, in accordance with the Public Tender Act, for the replacement of the security house at the entrance to the site. When the bids came in higher than anticipated, the corporation cancelled the tender, which is allowed under the act. The lowest bid was over $134,000.

The minister said a wind storm in September that caused further damage to the structure raised concerns regarding the safety of the security guards working in the building. As a result, the corporation moved swiftly to have the structure replaced on an emergency basis. The corporation split the project into two contracts - one for materials and the second for labour - and sought three bids for each contract from local companies, as is required. The lowest bidder from the public tender process was invited to submit a bid. Each contract was awarded to the lowest bidder for a total project cost of less than $83,000.

The contract the Opposition has issue with is the labour portion, which is the smaller of the two. It was awarded to the lowest bidder for $24,700. The next lowest bid was $288 higher.

"The fact that the total cost of the project at the end of the day is $51,000 less than the lowest original bid goes to show the corporation made the right decision in cancelling the tender," Minister Dunderdale said. "The companies that submitted the lowest bids in the subsequent process got the contracts. It has nothing to do with politics or the ownership of the companies. The bottom line is the proper process was followed and the job was done for less money."

The minister said the site manager for the Bull Arm Corporation made the contact with local companies asking them to bid on the two contracts. The contracts were awarded automatically to the lowest bidders with no involvement from the president and CEO of the corporation, Joan Cleary. The contracts were awarded properly, with the only oversight being an administrative reporting requirement. This involves filling out a form that is filed with the Government Purchasing Agency and tabled in the House explaining why a tender was not called in this case. This is currently being done.

"The Opposition is essentially criticizing us for cancelling a bid that was considered to be too high and for following a process that resulted in the work being done at considerable less expense," the minister said. "It exposes their approach for what it is - politics over substance."

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